Kageru: Heart Haze
by Kimbo aka Diona
Summary: An OLD fic that I've dug out of my hard drive...it's been colecting digital dust for ages. The author's note in teh beginning explains the set up.


Note: I've kind of re-japanized Gene's personality...or at least kinda put it back to the way it was before Toonami took out all his womanizing tendencies. Just watched the entire uncut OLS series on DVD.  
  
Well, anyway, here's the deal. After the whole mess at the Leyline, the OLS & crew headed back to Centinel III, then a while later, after a haircut and a change of wardrobe for Gene, Suzuka and Aisha decide not to go along and the rest of the crew headed out for the Oracion system. They break down in the middle of space, and have to have a repair ship come and give them a hand. Aisha and Suzuka hitched a ride with the repair ship, and now they're all back together. Eventually, they land themselves back on Hei Fong, and rent an apartment to set up shop again for a while.  
  
Fred Luo's still out there somewhere, trying to find someway to contact Jim & Gene. Well, the OLS was docked at the Hei Fong interplanetary spaceport (so I made it up) and something goes wrong with the XGP15A-2's (the Outlaw Star's) reactor drive. Everybody's inside, working on the ship, because they're planning a trip back to Sentinel 3, except Gene. He's runnin' around trying to catch this guy who's head is worth like 5,000 wong. Well, Gene got his guy, but he was listening to the radio on the way to meet everyone back on the OLS, and heard a news flash that the ship docked in the slot OLS was in had exploded. He checked it out, went into a state of denial, and went into his favorite local bar. We find him about four hours later, in the same seat:

* * *

Gene looked up as a female Ctarl Ctarl walked into the bar. Gene looked her over. Long purple hair down to almost the back of her knees. At her hip was a caster gun, similar to his own, and holding it up was a belt with about eighteen shells in it. His caster was his baby...Gene idley wondered if she felt the same way. The woman also had light shield gloves, the fingers cut off for one reason or another. She was about his height, perhaps a bit shorter. She had a slightly muscular build, revealed by her sleeveless shirt and tight, black pants. But, given her race, she could probably take Gene out in hand to hand. A laugh bubbled up as his mind picked out a few places he wouldn't mind going hand to hand with her. She had the type of figure men drooled over and other women envied, and Gene was drooling alright. Large breasts, flat stomach, relatively small waist; the hourglass figure. Her eyes were haunting though. A red, comparable that to the shade of blood, cat silted and with a fiery spirit burning behind them. It was the same sort of fire he had seen behind Hilda's when they had first gotten to know each other.  
  
She took a seat at the end of the counter and ordered a bottle of whiskey. Taking a large hair clip out of her pocket, she sloppily did up as much of her long hair as she could. Such pretty hair, but the color didn't match her figure well. A light blonde would be prettier. The usual question of color coordination came to mind.  
  
She looked no older then 18 and the tender, apparently not familiar with her, asked for an ID. She got her drink, but Gene couldn't read her age from such a distance.  
  
After watching her in the mirror wall behind the shelves of bottles for a while, sipping his drink slowly, Gene waved the bartender over. Already slightly drunk, Gene did something he wouldn't have done sober. "I'll pay for the next thing she orders" He said, nodding towards the Ctarl Ctarl.  
  
"Alright buddy."  
  
"And bring me another." he added, pushing his now empty glass towards the bartender.  
  
The bartender obliged, then went to wait on somebody else.  
  
As Gene sipped his drink, he continued to watch the Ctarl Ctarl girl, who was now resting her head in a hand, her fingers playing over an earring she wore.  
  
When she ordered another bottle, the bartender told her that Gene had said he would cover the cost, although in not so many words. She just nodded, took the whiskey, and moved down the bar to sit next to Gene.  
  
"Thanks." She said, looking at him in the mirror.  
  
"No problem babe." Gene said with a nod, though his speech was slightly slurred from his previous drinks. "Gene Starwind, at your service."  
  
"Setsuai Kijo" She said, then took a swig from her bottle.  
  
Those words triggered a memory for Gene, of his father teaching him another language. The booze in his system almost completely muffled the old pain of having lost his father so long ago. "That's Japanese, isn't it?"  
  
"It is. It's not my birth name, that I've left in the past. I might tell you about it later." Setsuai said, and lifted the bottle halfway to her mouth. "But in the meantime, I'm here to drown my sense of righteousness" She gave him a wry smile, before taking another swig. "Lady Fate blows." she said with a sort of finality in her voice as she let her glass hit the table lightly.  
  
"Now why do you say that?" Gene asked, turning to face her. "She brought the two of us together here tonight." A drunken smile crossed the red haired man's lips as his muddied mind drifted towards where he'd just decided he'd like to take Setsuai, despite the difference in their species.  
  
"Heh, maybe so, but it's probably the best thing that's happened to me, next to finding the Fukumaden, and to date that's been more a curse then a blessing." Setsuai paused in her speech for another long drink of whisky.  
  
"The Fukumaden?" Gene asked, having never heard the name before.  
  
"My ship. It's a proto type, but it works just fine. I have the Ctarl Ctarl empire up my ass to hand it over to them, the pirates after it for god knows what reason, and I've been told that Twilight Suzuka's out for my life." The woman laughed, shaking her head a bit. "Obviously, she hasn't found me yet."  
  
"Suzuka?" Gene nearly dropped his drink at the mention of what he took for his shipmate.  
  
"I think that Suzuka thing is a lie. I heard she died." The Ctarl brushed the thought off with a shrug, the infamous assassian's life meaning little to her.  
  
"She did." Gene said quietly. He glanced up at the only TV in the bar, which was tuned to a news station.  
  
"... a ship mysteriously exploded while docked at the Hei Fong interplanetary spaceport. Reports have it that two Humans, a Ctarl Ctarl, and a human bio-android. were killed in the blast. It has been conformed that the ship's name was the Outlaw Star, and...." The reporter continued with her report, but Gene was no longer paying attention.  
  
"That was my ship...and my crew." Gene said, noticing that his glass was once again empty as he made a move to take another drink. "Bartender, get me another will you?"  
  
The man behind the counter nodded, and filled Gene's glass.  
  
"Who were they?"  
  
The question was innocent enough, but it was hard for Gene to answer. He managed, with a few deep breaths and the aide of half of his newly filled glass, to answer without faltering. "Suzuka, and my business partner, James Hawking. Melfina was the bio-android," Gene laughed bitterly as a thought drifted through his alcohol-laden brain. "She seemed more human then I was at times. Aisha Clan Clan was the Ctarl Ctarl." He finished his drink in one more swig, then hung his head, staring at the bar counter.  
  
Setsuai took a deep breath at the mention of Aisha's name, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, unseen by Gene. She was about to put her arm around the scarred outlaw when he slammed his fist down on the counter.  
  
"DEAD! All of them dead!" Gene suddenly burst out, as if saying it loud enough would bring them back. "And I couldn't do a god damn thing! I was to busy trying to track down some asshole to be there for them!" A single tear fell onto the counter as Gene squeezed his eyes shut tight, wishing they were with him. Or he with them.  
  
"Gene..." Setsuai attempted to comfort him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She didn't accomplish very much. Gene stood up, put the money for the drinks on the counter, and stormed out of the bar. Setsuai followed him, with out really thinking about what she was doing. "Gene! Gene...I'm sorry...I wish I could do something."  
  
"Not even the Galactic Leyline can bring them back." Gene said, sprawling out on a bench. He threw an arm over his face, hiding his eyes in the crook of his elbow as if he could not bare the sight of the stars. "First my father, then Hilda, and now, all my friends. You were right. Fate blows, big." Gene said bitterly, a sigh escaping through his lips.  
  
Setsuai sat down next to him, leaning her head against his chest affectionately. She spoke softly, her head turned to almost whisper in the man's ear. "No Gene, you were right. She brought us together tonight for a reason." She smiled at Gene for a moment, snuggling against his chest in the chill night air.  
  
At this point, both of them were more then a little drunk.  
  
Gene looked at her and sighed, laying his arm out over the back of the bench. He smiling a bit at the same time as he asked her in an almost thoughtful voice, "You have somewhere to stay?"  
  
She shook her head a bit. "Just my ship."  
  
"Come on over to my place. There's an extra bed," Gene laughed, wraping her arms around her shoulders before finishing his thought. "Or you can share mine." 

"Sounds enticing." She purred, standing up slowly and waiting for him to follow her. "Lead the way."  
  
Gene stood, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they stared off. They soon reached the building with the large Starwind and Hawking sign on the front and went inside.  
  
"Hmmm, nice place a got here." Setsuai mused softly, looking around as she stood in the entry way. "So where's your room? I'd feel a bit...weird if I slept in one of the other beds." Setsuai offered him a smile of thinly veiled anticipation.  
  
"I'm not complaining." Gene said with a laugh as the swept his cape from his shoulders and tossed it onto the couch.  
  
Setsuai watched him with a hungry look in her eyes as he took off his shirt, and threw it on top of his cape. His light shield gloves, caster, and caster shells were thrown on the pile too. The ctarl moved towards him as he pulled off his boots and left them beside the couch. She merely looked him over for a few seconds before closing the small gap between their bodies and kissing him. Gene only hesitated for a moment before kissing back, slipping his strong arms around her waist.  
  
She moaned into his mouth, pressing her body against his. Gene kissed her back hungrily as she started tugging at his belt to get it lose. When she did, she began kissing her way down his chest and stomach. With a smile, Setsuai pulled down his pants, sending him staggering back a few steps to lean against the back of the couch.  
  
Setsuai stepped back for a moment, taking off her shirt, and dislodging the clip that held up her hair, letting it fall like a purple waterfall down around her body. Gene took a deep breath, smiling and licking his lips.  
  
She smiled at him, pulling off her gloves and throwing them aside. "Would you like to know what my name means, Gene Starwind?" She asked, undoing her pants and letting them fall to the floor, leaving her with only her long hair to conceal her body.  
  
He walked up to her, eyes tracing her form as the gap drew slowly closed. "What does it mean?" He asked.  
  
She closed the space between them, causing him to slide into her. Her breath caught in the throat, and she closed her eyes for a moment, leaning into him. "This." she whispered finally. "Love deeply."  
  
"I couldn't imagine why." He said jokingly, before kissing her, and beginning to move within her in a slow rhythm.  
  
Setsuai opened her eyes slowly. Gene's sleeping face filled her vision, smiling contently. She grinned herself at the not-so-vague memories of the things they had done the night before. She snuggled up against him, and he wrapped his arms around her.  
  
Over his shoulder she could see a clock. It was almost ten thirty in the morning.  
  
She sighed, regretting the fact that she had to move. She had an appointment with her weapons supplier, Fred Luo, at two. She got up, careful not to wake him, and headed for the shower, picking up her clothes along the way.  
  
While Setsuai was washing her hair, Gene came into the bathroom. "Hey babe..." he yawned. "What's the rush?"  
  
She continued to scrub at her hair. "I've got an appointment with my weapons supplier in a few hours. You can come if you want."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea to me...but I don't think I'll have time for a shower." Gene said, scratching his head.  
  
"Then get in here. I'm not going with a man who hasn't taken a shower after last night." She said, sliding the door open. "You're enticing enough without reeking of your hormones."  
  
The shower was plenty big enough for both of them, and they quickly washed. Gene helped brush out Setsuai's hair in record time, and she braided it quickly.  
  
She got out, dried herself off, and glanced at her dirty clothes. She bit her bottom lip. "Do you have anything I can wear?"  
  
"Yeah. You don't mind wearing something of Aisha's, do you?"  
  
"I guess not." She said, wrapping the towel around herself.  
  
He secured a towel around his waist, and lead her to Aisha's room. "In here." He opened the closet for her.  
  
Setsuai took a look at the outfits, and made a face. "Never did have the same taste, but it looks like it'll fit. Thanks babe." She kissed Gene before picking out the most gothic of the outfits, which looked as if it had only been worn once.  
  
Gene smiled, and left to get dressed in his room.  
  
Setsuai had to squeeze into the mini dress--it barely fitting her. It stressed her curves to a great extent. Looking in the mirror in the hall, she smiled at her reflection. "At least I look good."  
  
"Almost as good as you did last night." Gene said, coming out of his room in his normal outfit, minus the cape and the gloves.  
  
Setsuai traced the outline of the tattoo on his left arm. "Not even the endless void of space can stop true outlaws." she said.  
  
"What's that?" Gene looked at her questioningly.  
  
"Nothing important." She said, smiling. She frowned after a minute. "We need a car."  
  
"Got it covered." Gene grinned.  
  
"Love ya!" Setsuai leapt over the railing, jumping down to the first floor and landing next to her Caster, shells, and gloves. She put them on as Gene came down the stairs, then tossed Gene his cape.  
  
He caught it, and threw it on his shoulders. "So, who's your supplier?" Gene asked, pulling on his gloves.  
  
"Fred Luo." Setsuai said with a sigh.  
  
"Fred? Man, I hate that guy."  
  
"Well, he's got good stuff." She glanced at the clock on the wall. Noon already. "Well, we'd better get going. We can stop for lunch along the way."  
  
"GENE! What a surprise! I didn't expect to see you here. How's Jim doing?"  
  
Gene frowned at the mention of Jim, and Setsuai's expression hardened.  
  
"That was the Outlaw Star at the spaceport." Setsuai said. "Try not to bring it up. He still has one hell of a hang over from last night." Setsuai coughed to hide her smile.  
  
"Oh, my poor Gene. I feel so sorry for you." Fred went to go give Gene a hug, but Gene held his hand up, activating his light shield and successfully avoiding Fred's unwanted affections. Fred sighed.  
  
"Well, to business. So, what is it you're in need of Setsuai?"  
  
Fred seemed a bit afraid of Setsuai, and she used that to her full advantage.  
  
Swinging her hips in a way that practically made Gene's eyes fall out of his head, she walked over to Fred. Leaning over, and pretty much sticking her boobs in his face, she looked at the palm pad he held.  
  
Fred leaned away from her as much as he could without falling over backwards. "Um...er, here." He handed her the pad.  
  
Setsuai straightened up, but didn't back away from Fred. "Hmmm, Well, the large gun is out of ammunition...."  
  
The whole ordeal lasted about three hours, at the end of which, Fred was standing on the opposite side of the room from Setsuai, and Gene was beginning to turn blue from trying not to laugh.  
  
When they walked out of the building, Gene couldn't hold it in any longer, and laughed his head off. Setsuai joined in as the two made their way to the car.  
  
"Man! I don't think I've EVER seen Fred so terrified in my life! What did you do to that man?" Gene asked, slamming the driver's door.  
  
"Oh, lets just say he discovered the meaning of my last name, Kijo, quite some time ago, and is now terrified of women." Setsuai said with an evil smirk, jumping over the door all together, seeing as it was a convertible and the top was down.  
  
Gene raised a questioning eyebrow at her, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the highway.  
  
"Demoness. But you don't have to worry about that." she purred, leaning over the emergency brake.  
  
Gene's concentration on the road increased, not wanting to kill them both.  
  
"Aw come on now. I could tell by the way you were looking at me when I was annoying Fred that you couldn't wait to get this dress off of me." she whispered in his ear.  
  
Gene fidgeted around in the driver's seat.  
  
Love to make him squirm Setsuai thought to herself. "Come on Starwind. I'm even more fun when I'm not drunk."  
  
Setsuai continued to taunt Gene the entire ride home, Gene's knuckles becoming whiter and whiter as his grip on the steering wheel tightened.  
  
By the time Gene pulled into his garage, he'd pretty much used up all his will power.  
  
"You just gunna sit there or..." Setsuai was silenced when Gene kissed her, practically pulling her into his lap. She happily obliged, pulling the lever and dropping the seat back.  
  
Gene undid the zipper in the back of Setsuai's mini-dress as they kissed, and she pulled it the rest of the way off, throwing it in the passenger seat. Setsuai made quick work of Gene's pants, throwing them next to her dress, and began fooling with him when the phone rang.  
  
Gene picked it up, doing his best to sound like nothing was going on. "Starwind and Hawking. No problem to big or to small. How can I help you?"  
  
Gene listened for a minute, biting his lower lip to keep from making any weird noises.  
  
"Alright. Well right now we're experiencing so-ah! I'm on the phone over here! Cut that out!" Gene finally couldn't take it any more.  
  
Setsuai looked up at him with sad, puppy eyes.  
  
"Sorry sir. Like I was saying, we're currently having some problems. You see, our ship was recently destroyed, and we are looking for another..."  
  
"I have ship! We can use mine!" She said, annoyed. "Take the job, and we'll get to it a little later."  
  
"Alright then. Where would you like to meet?......The Last Call on East street, at seven, tonight. Alright, bye." Gene hung up, and turned off the phone.  
  
"I hate business calls." Gene muttered.  
  
"You're telling me." Setsuai said, laying on top of Gene. "Come on, let's forget about that for a while."  
  
Gene caught a glimpse of the clock in the dashboard, and let his head fall back against the seat. "Shit."  
  
Setsuai didn't seem to notice Gene's sudden change in attitude.  
  
Gene tried to speak just as Setsuai tried to kiss him. Lucky for them Gene's need for money overcame his current sex drive, and he gently pushed Setsuai off of him. "Come on."  
  
"Hey Gene, what's the matter?" She asked, kneeling in the passenger seat and looking at him questioningly.  
  
"The matter is, I have about fifteen minutes to get my ass over to where I'm meeting my new client, on the far side of town. I'd rather not live on the streets." He said, pulling on his pants.  
  
"OUR client. We're using MY ship, remember?" Setsuai said, looking disappointed as she fought with the zipper of her dress.  
  
"Come here." Gene said with a sigh. Setsuai turned around, leaning back so Gene could get the zipper closed.  
  
Setsuai sat down in the passenger seat and Gene opened the garage door, and drove out. She tried to re-braid her hair, but failed miserably. The then proceeded to try and brush it out with her hands as Gene sped through the streets.  
  
Gene pulled into the parking lot of the Last Call, a bar, at about ten seconds to seven. Setsuai had found a box of mints in the glove compartment and stuffed one in Gene's mouth, taking one herself. He was about to spit it out, so she kissed him. "Just shut up, OK?"  
  
He just glanced at her, his expression unreadable, before getting out of the car and going inside.  
  
Setsuai followed. "Come on lover boy. Lighten up a little. It's not like you're going this alone. I'll be right here."  
  
Gene just smiled at her in an annoyed fashion, then looked around the room, trying to pick out the man who had called him.  
  
"Gene Starwind?" Asked a man, walking in the door.  
  
Gene turned around. The man was about 45, well muscled for his age, but nothing compared to Gene currently.  
  
Setsuai turned and looked him over. She crossed her arms under her chest, and waited for the men to talk.  
  
"Nice girl you got there. Where'd you pick her up?" the man asked, looking her over hungrily.  
  
"Across town." Gene said coldly.  
  
"Hey pretty lady." He put a hand on her shoulder. "How bout coming over to my place tonight? I'll pay you real good."  
  
"With your life." Setsuai snarled, her eyes flashing dangerously. Grabbing his wrist she twisted it almost to the breaking point. "Don't touch me again, scum." She released his wrist, and pushed him back into the wall. "Let's talk business. Now. What is it that you want?"  
  
"An escort to Tenrei. My ship has no major weapons, and I've heard that there's some pretty rough areas between here and there."  
  
Gene opened his mouth to speak, but Setsuai beat him to it. "Fuel, a quarter of the supply money, docking fees, weapons and repair expenses if we run into trouble, lodging on Tenrei for at least one night, unless you need our service longer, and last but not least, payment for the guarding itself, at 18 hundred Wong a day."  
  
"Nine hundred."  
  
"A thousand." Gene said.  
  
"Fine." The man said, rubbing his wrist.  
  
"Alright then." Gene said, smiling.  
  
"We'll need an account number and name to bill to, and I WILL validate it before we take off." Setsuai continued.  
  
"Perfectly valid, I assure you." He said, handing her a slip of paper. On it was written a name, telephone number, ship name and registration information, and a billing account.  
  
Setsuai looked it over, then slipped it into the shoulder of her dress, lacking pockets. She nodded. "I'll check that later tonight. Give him a call around noon tomorrow, and we'll set a date if the info's valid."  
  
The man nodded, and smiled. "Talk tomorrow, beautiful." He turned, and walked out, Setsuai glaring.  
  
Gene looked at Setsuai. "Damn. You handled that better then Jim ever did."  
  
She shrugged. "I could have gotten more out of him, you know. All men have a weak spot. Given a minute, I could have found his."  
  
"Alright then, what's mine?"  
  
"Women, and if I'm not mistaken, you have a thing for Ctarl Ctarl." She smiled at him.  
  
"You...!" Gene looked ready to shoot her.  
  
"I see I hit the nail on the head. Well, come on. We need to go to the small space port about an hour west of town. All my stuff's in my ship."  
  
They left the bar, and got into the car.  
  
"I've always wanted to go to Tenrei." Setsuai said as they sped off.  
  
"You'll love it." Gene said with a laugh, remembering his last trip.

* * *

Setsuai yawned. She glanced at the time display in the corner of the Fukumaden's main screen. 11:45pm. She yawned again, and got up out of the seat.  
  
"Mouko, store displayed data. File name: Tenrei escort job."  
  
"Data stored." Answered the male voice of the ships AI mainframe, Mouko.  
  
Gene came into the control room. "Ready to go back to my place?" He asked sleepily.  
  
"I think we'd better crash here. Get undressed, and I'll throw your clothes in the wash. I don't have anything that'd fit you. And everything's working but the heat." She said, walking towards her room.  
  
"And I suppose I'll just freeze in the other room." Gene said, watching his warm breath rise in a small cloud.  
  
"Don't worry." She said, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "I'll keep you warm."  
  
"Why did you stay?" He suddenly asked.  
  
"What?" Setsuai stopped walking and spun around to face him. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"This morning. You woke up before me. You could have just left, but instead you took a shower at my place, waiting for me to get up. Why didn't you just take your stuff and leave?" Gene was quite obviously irked by the fact that Setsuai hadn't just gotten up and left in the morning like all the other women.  
  
She looked at him quizzically. "I don't know." She said after a while, truthfully. "I was always 'let me outta this hole' after a night like that, but I guess you're different." She smiled, moving over to him and draping her arms over his shoulders. "Just...simply irresistible." Gene wrapped his arms around her as she kissed the base of his neck. "And besides, I was less drunk then you thought."  
  
Gene kissed her, pulling her closer to him. "Good thing I am."  
  
"Good thing," she repeated, stepping back a bit. "Or else you'd be down 50 wong, a ship, and a business partner."  
  
"Fifty?" Gene asked innocently.  
  
Setsuai smirked at him. "The way you were going you'd have willingly paid fifty for some, and wouldn't have had half as much fun." She tugged on his shirt. "Now strip, so I can wash your clothes. The quicker you get undressed, the quicker you can hide in the bed." 


End file.
